September 22, 2011

Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for September 21

by Larry Granillo

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It was my brother's birthday yesterday. As someone who grew up in the Los Angeles-area during the 1980s, he is a fan of both the Dodgers and the Raiders. Imagine what that must be like for a second - Frank McCourt's Dodgers and Al Davis' Raiders. Ouch.

Thankfully, my brother got to see Matt Kemp hit a monster of a home run for the Dodgers last night. Kemp is having a fantastic year for the Dodgers and is, quite possibly, the league's MVP this year, so at least my brother and his fellow Dodger fans have that going for them. Of course, Kemp's home run didn't end up helping the Dodgers at all last night, but let's not dwell on the negatives.

How about some trots?

Home Run of the Day: David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals - 20.6 seconds [video]
The Cardinals cannot be stopped, winners of 10 of their last 12 and now only 1.5 games behind the Braves for the National League Wild Card. Last night's victory came courtesy of David Freese, who launched a three-run, opposite-field home run in the bottom of the seventh to give the Cards a 6-4 lead against the Mets. It was quite the moment for the hometown kid.

Slowest Trot: Mark Reynolds, Baltimore Orioles #1 - 25.01 seconds [video]
Two home runs for Mark Reynolds in Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, including a game-tying, seventh-inning blast. The two home run trots - the 25.01 second trot in the second and the 24.4 second trot in the seventh - also happened to be Wednesday's two slowest trots. Kemp's blast, and the 24.34 second trot, edged in behind him at third place.

Quickest Trot: Peter Bourjos, Los Angeles Angels - 17.54 seconds [video]
Eight of the thirty home runs hit on Wednesday had tater trots under-20 seconds, including two 18-second trots and Bourjos' 17-second trot. I'm always happy to see Bourjos atop these lists, but I am disappointed in one thing. Eric Thames is routinely one of the quickest trotters in the league, often wearing the Quickest Trot crown on days he goes yard. And, yet, Thames, playing against Bourjos and the Angels, hit his home run after Bourjos' but failed to pick up his speed in direct competition with the Angels' centerfielder. Thames didn't have to do that, of course, but it would have made me happy.

All of Today's Trots

Mark Reynolds #1..25.01      Alexei Ramirez....21.22
Mark Reynolds #2..24.4       Brett Hayes.......20.81
Matt Kemp.........24.34      Logan Morrison....20.78
Danny Espinosa....24.23      Desmond Jennings..20.73
Miguel Montero....23.77      David Freese......20.6
John Mayberry.....23.53      Vernon Wells......20.36
Travis Hafner.....23.16      Kelly Shoppach....20
Derrek Lee........23.14      Eduardo Nunez.....19.78
Willie Harris.....23.06      Josh Hamilton.....19.68
Wilson Ramos......22.35      Don Kelly.........19.52
Brent Morel.......21.96      Ryan Ludwick......19.29
Robinson Cano.....21.46      Miguel Cairo......19.15
Sean Rodriguez....21.38      Eric Thames.......18.32
Alex Rios.........21.36      Marlon Byrd.......18.05
Ian Kinsler.......21.32      Peter Bourjos.....17.54